Homeopathy, Physics, and Barcelona

So I’ve just returned from Barcelona, where the homeopathic research community congregated last weekend, for what proved to be a spectacular meeting of the minds at the 1st ever Homeopathic Research Institute Conference. Scientists and researchers from all over the world presented their findings and theories, some of which – if true – could truly revolutionize our concepts of medicine and physics. They also managed to prove that homeopaths and scientists know how to have a really good time. Though honestly if you can’t have a good time in Barcelona then you really shouldn’t be allowed in.

I had the pleasure of presenting a short assembly (an unfinished piece) to a highly discerning audience. I was extraordinarily nervous about the prospects of presenting it to some of the most brilliant minds in homeopathy. Thankfully I received a warm if not glowing response from the audience. I received several requests to show the film in educational settings, and tonnes of people asked me where they could get their hands on my little video. Well I told them what I’m telling you – if you make a teeny weeny donation of $25 or more I’ll send you your very own link to the video which tells the story of a massive homeopathic profylaxis intervention in Cuba. Just click here!

But of course, as is always the case with homeopathy, I’m left with more questions than answers. Luckily I’ve met some people who are willing to share their wealth of knowledge on this journey. A few of whom I was blessed to meet in Spain.

Martine Jourde, Gustavo Bracho, Ananda and Stephan Baumgartner

There were so many fascinating presentations. Being interested in the inner workings of the universe I was particularly interested in a peculiar effect that several scientists had observed in their work. Something they called transference. What is that you ask? Well more than one person claimed that remedies seem to affect living organisms from a distance. And to top of the Freaky voodoo-like effect, water placed next to a homeopathic remedy seems to take on the characteristics of the remedy. And guess what, it’s been observed repeatedly in laboratory situations.

Keynote speaker Dr. Stephan Baumgartner, a physicist from the university of Bern, presented a simple experiment he conducted on wheat seedlings. He placed wheat seedlings linearly next to a vial of homeopathic remedy, arsenicum album 45X which he potentised by hand in his lab. He discovered that the seedlings closest to the remedy showed a decrease in growth, and were affected to a greater extent than those furthest away from the remedy. This force could affect clinical and laboratory outcomes in relation to homeopathic research. The implications are that since physical contact with a remedy may not be required to feel its affects. So presumably, individuals in a placebo or control group could still be affected by the action of a remedy.

Dr. Gustavo Bracho, an immunologist from Cuba, presented a study about homeopathic dilutions of a plant extract with anti-tumoral properties. He discovered completely by accident,that if he stored water (for his control / placebo group) next to a homeopathic dilution of the extract, the water would take on the same properties as the remedy. He found that at specific potencies or dilutions, the homeopathic remedy would have a toxic effect on tumor cells. If the water was kept at a distance from the remedy it would not demonstrate the same effects. Hmm I wonder if this could be affecting homeopathic research by contaminating placebo and control groups.

Later on, while navigating the complex subway system in Barcelona I got to have an intimate chat with Dr. Baumgartner. He explained that this may be evidence of a field that affects living things – similar to a gravitational or magnetic field. He started by explaining that Hahneman had envisioned such a field when he spoke of a spirit-like force in the Organon. He clarified that the Organon was poorly translated in English. Hahneman was not referring to a spiritual energy or soul, but rather something that could act invisibly like gravity or electricity.

I was concerned about the storage of my remedies. If these observations were correct, couldn’t they contaminate each other if stored in the same cabinet? He compared a remedy to a permanent magnet. The magnet can create a temporary effect on another object, however if that object already has it’s own magnetic field it cannot be changed by another magnetic field. Likewise if a remedy is already imprinted, it cannot be affected by another. We arrived at our destination and the topic of conversation rapidly changed as the spires of La Sagrada Familia rose before us. So word of warning to homeopaths, and homeopathic aficionados out there – make sure you keep your blank pellets and water far away from your remedies.